Gabrielle Giffords book: I will return to Congress

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords vows to come back to Congress in her emotionally wrenching memoir that sheds new light on her shooting, learning that others had been killed, and amazing recovery, according to a report.

In “Gabby: A Story of Courage and Hope,” her joint memoir with her husband Mark Kelly, Arizona Democrat writes that her goal is to return to Congress, The Associated Press reported on Friday.

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The AP said it purchased an advanced copy of the book, which will be released on Nov. 15. Kelly wrote the book, but Giffords was responsible for the section saying she will come back and serve in Washington as a member of Congress, the AP said.

The last chapter is called “Gabby’s Voice,” and in it, Giffords writes, “I will get stronger. I will return.”

Pia Carusone, Giffords’ chief of staff, told The Arizona Republic Friday that Giffords has not made any decisions concerning a return to Congress. “The Congresswoman has not decided whether or not she will seek reelection in 2012,” he said. “She is 100 percent focused on her recovery, and any decisions about 2012 are going to happen in 2012.”

In the book, Kelly, a former astronaut, tells how he felt when some media outlets reported his wife was dead, and also details his happiness at learning those reports were false. He wrote when he first saw her after she was shot in the head, he was shocked — she was in a coma and in bad shape, with some of her hair shaved off, her head bandaged and her face visibly bruised.

The book charts the couple’s romance, Giffords’s political rise, Kelly’s career as an astronaut, and the Jan. 8 shooting, when a gunman killed six and shot Giffords in the head at a constituent meeting she held near Tucson.

Sarah Palin also makes an appearance in the memoir: Giffords was reportedly disturbed by Palin’s controversial “crosshairs” map — Giffords’ Tucson district, like a number of other Democratic-held districts, was marked with gun crosshairs in a SarahPAC email targeting lawmakers for defeat.

After the attack, Kelly spoke to President Barack Obama about the map. Kelly writes in the memoir he thought Palin might call and offer her condolences in the wake of the criticism concerning her “crosshairs” list. She did not, the memoir reveals.

The memoir also covers her intensive recovery over the past few months. In the book, Kelly writes that the worst part of Giffords’s recovery came when it was discovered she could not speak. When she eventually regained the ability to speak, the AP wrote that she recited the U.S. Constitution and Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech.

Lost respect for her. She should have stepped down while she recovers and let the people of her district have someone in the House as a voice for them. Once she felt healthy she could run and get her seat back. Instead she has held onto it like it belongs to her. It's a problem far too many in congress suffer from, the feeling of entitlement to a seat. If I was in her district I wouldn't vote for her.

.Rep. Gabrielle Giffords does not vow to return to Congress in her upcoming memoir, The Arizona Republic has learned.

A source close to Giffords who has read the book and is in possession of a copy said that the final chapter is written in Giffords' voice, and that she speaks hopefully about her future. It does not, however, include an explicit vow to return to Congress that the Associated Press reported.

"I will get stronger. I will return," Giffords writes in the book, according to the AP.

In that passage, the source said, Giffords was pledging to continue recovering from the gunshot wound to the head she suffered in the Jan. 8 shooting spree near Tucson. The source interpreted "I will return" to mean Giffords hoped to return to a normal life, not necessarily to Congress.

In fact, her staff says, Giffords herself doesn't know if she will return.

"The Congresswoman has not decided whether or not she will seek reelection in 2012," said Pia Carusone, Giffords' chief of staff. "She is 100 percent focused on her recovery, and any decisions about 2012

This is such an inspiring story but I wonder whether she will regain the communications skills necessary to perform her job representing Arizona citizens. If not, how can she be their voice? Is her Democratic seat so important as to allow her to serve without the basic job skills? It's hard to ask that now, but it's a real question. People elect Representatives, not their staffs, no matter how competent they may be.

Typical liberal jerk offs.... what the F does Sarah Palin have to do with Giffords? Not a fng thing. But, like all good liberals, just got to repeat the bullcrap lies.

The guy who shot Giffords had never seen the maps. The guy who shot Giffords was more of a left winger than a right winger. The guy who shot Giffords was mentally ill and shot her for something he was mad about her for from a few years before. It had absolutely nothing to do with Sarah Palin and the maps.

So, F the Giffords for even including this part in the book. Lousy, liberal haters and liars and smear artists even after all the truth and history has been out there for a long time.

Screw them. I don't give a crap that we are supposed to feel sympathy for her.... if it means letting them smear Sarah Palin with more crap, then screw them.

This whole thing has been a sad, sad commentary on PC trumping the rights and needs of the voters. Giffords should have stepped down within weeks of the shooting and allowed for a special election. She has been AWOL from her duties and has left her district unrepresented for vote after vote. Her committee and sub-committee seats remain empty as well.

If her district was safe, the Dems would have ousted her in March, as it became obvious she couldn't serve. Because her district may swing, the Dems are not pushing her out. Because of the PC backlash, and because they have a wide margin in the House, the GOP is not pushing the issue.

The big losers are the people who live in her district. Both parties are guilty of depriving the 8th District of representation.

As for her running again, only time will tell. I hope that her handlers understand that it the ability to string together complete and coherent paragrapghs will be a critical requirement on the campighn trail. I hope that everyone involved realises that she will need full cognative function to read and write in her Congresional duties.

No, I am not being mean. I am stating a fact. The lady has a massive brain injury. It will take years to fully recover, if that is even possible. While she has already exceeded expectations, the road gets much harder from this point. Incremental improvements become smaller, slower and much harder to achieve after the initial recovery period.

I would hope that she has the moral fiber to step aside for a healthy Dem candidate if she does not dramatically improve between now and late 2012. Her Dem constiuents deserve a fighting chance at retaining the District and ALL of the District deserves a fully functional Congressperson.

ARE THE PROFITS FROM HER BOOK GOING TO PAY BACK THE TAXPAYERS FOR THE FIRST RATE MEDICAL CARE AND TRAVEL EXPENSES

A better question is "will the grifter from Alaska with the gun-happy rhetoric reimburse the taxpayers for the medical care and travel expenses, along with punitive damages to Ms. Giffords and the families of the fallen"?

the people who live in her district

Yes indeed, the people of her district will make this decision, not a bunch of tea party yahoos responsible for catapulting dangerous and incendiary language around.

ITS ALL ABOUT THE MONEY AND KELLY IS PUSHING HIS INCOMPETENT WIFE INTO THIS B U L L S H I T. THE WOMAN NEEDS TO DO THE RIGHT THING AND RESIGN. KELLY NEEDS TO FIND A JOB AND WORK LIKE THE REST OF OF TAX PAYING CITIZENS

After the attack, Kelly spoke to President Barack Obama about the map. Kelly writes in the memoir he thought Palin might call and offer her condolences in the wake of the criticism concerning her “crosshairs” list. She did not, the memoir reveals.

Liberal Democrats, and their slavish media sycophants never miss an opportunity to milk a tragedy for personal political gain, or to connect dots, even when they don't connect in their ongoing jihad to slander anyone who does not bow before the altar of Socialism, or drink the Liberal Kool-Aid. Liberal Democrats have no shame.

A better question is "will the grifter from Alaska with the gun-happy rhetoric reimburse the taxpayers for the medical care and travel expenses, along with punitive damages to Ms. Giffords and the families of the fallen"?

You are a sick, twisted witch......never let a crisis go to waste, right, loretta? Use even the sickest of opportunities to attack the Right.....that's the Liberal way. Well, loretta, try this on for ....if Giffords is well enough to write a book , she was well enough to go back to work....afterall, it takes actual thought to write a book......it takes no brains at all to be a Liberal in Congress.....and she could have been doing someting to actually earn her salary.....sweeping floors, cleaning toilets, emptying trash cans........something.....but, no....the 'grifter' from Az chose to rip the taxpayers for her pay.

I realize this is harsh, or even crass....but it is intended to bring the idiocy of loretta to light. I hope Giffords fully recovers.